Improvement in rubber boots and shoes



.s. 3.. WHIT TEMORE. Rubber Boots and Shoes.

Patented April 2 O o n o 0 MWH Q 0 0 06 0 N-PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER WASHXN-GTON. D C

UNITED STATESPATENTI QF Ion.

SAMUEL E. WHITTEMORE, on BnIsTo RHOD ISLAND."

IMPROVEMENT IN RUBBER BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 202,082, dated April 2, 1878; application filed January 12, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. WHITTE- MORE, of Bristol, in the county of Bristol and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RubberBoots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a part thereof, is a clear, true, and complete description thereof.

The object of my invention is to increase the durability of rubber boots and shoes; and it relates to a novel and peculiar construction of the rear portions thereof adjacent to the hee The rear portion of the tread of the heel is particularly liable to be speedily'worn away, and as soon as the wear at that point has so far progressed as to prevent a good general bearing of the heel on the ground, the upper portion of the heel or counter begins to break at or near the junction with the sole.

Moreover, the use of the toe of one foot to remove a shoe from the other foot, as is common, tends to abrade the rear surface of the shoe and to effect a rupture between its counter and the sole, especially after the sole has become worn, as above described.

With aview to lessening this liability of rupture and the breaking down of the heel, various interior re-enforcing-pieces have heretofore been employed.

Overshoes have also heretofore been provided with a pulling-strap, the outer lower end of which is attached to the'outer rear surface of the counter; and overshoes have also been heretofore provided with a small triangular projection at the rear of the counter, for affording a surface with which the toe of another shoe may engage for removing the overshoe from the foot; but none of these previous constructions contribute materially to more firmly unite the rear edge of the heel-sole to the upper of the rear portion of the shoe, or increase the rearward tread of the heel-sole, both of which effects are of great practical value.

My invention consists in a rubber boot or shoe provided with a heel-sole which extends rearward and upward, and is united to the exterior surface of the counter at the rear. The

heel-sole is usually a part of the main sole, which extends to the toe, the treading-sur-- faces being scored or serrated in a manner Well known.

To more particularly describe my invention, I will refer to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a rubber shoe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is' a rear view thereof. Fig. 3 represents the sole thereof as it appears before being applied to the upper part of the shoe.

The sole A, instead of being rounded at the heel, as heretofore, is extended longer than the shoe, as at a, and terminated in a point. When applied to the shoe in process'of construction, this pointed portion is bent upward and made to adhere to the exterior surface of the. counter, and by vulcanization securely attached, as usual. The vertical portion of the sole operates as a shield to the main rear portion of the counter, as a tie for securely binding the heel-sole and counter together, and as a stiffening re-enforce for the counter. The heel-sole, being thus extended, has a bearingsurface which extends so far to the rear of the inner rear surface of the heel that no ordinary wearing away of the rear of said sole will affect the general bearing of the heel of an inner shoe, and, however much the sole may be worn at the rear of the heel, the vertical portion will maintain the counter in a perfect condition.

The vertical portion a may or may not be serrated, like the tread of the heel or main sole; but when serrated it affords a good surface with which the toe of another shoe or the fingers may engage for removing the shoe from the foot.

In order to secure a graceful outline at the rear of the shoe, the upper end of the shield is gradually reduced in bulk, and its point merges with an artificial seam-line, if this latter be employed. It is not essential, however. that the upper end of the shield be pointed, because it may as well be rounded or have any other desired outline; nor is it essential that the shield and heel-sole be originally formed in one piece, because they can be made in two pieces and united at or near the line of the sole, and these, after vulcanization, will practically be as solidly united as if the sole and shield had been originally formed in one sole which is extended vertically at its rear, piece, and. in both cases vthe heel-sole would and is attached to the counter, substantially be} practically extended in the finished shoe. as described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim SAMUEL E. WHITTEMORE. as new and. desire to secure by Letters Pat- Witnesses: ent- JAMES SHAW,

.A rubber boot 0r shoe provided with aheel- HENRY ORME. 

